May 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 33

case, Summer argued primary assumption of risk should not apply
because " dangers at Blair Field
from hard-hit foul balls that were
not inherent risks in the sport of
baseball. " In particular, she alleged
inherent dangers had been unreasonably increased by " the failure
to install protective netting for
field-level seating along the firstand third-base lines between the
batter's box and the dugouts. " Further, Summer claimed " the configuration of seating that brought
spectators in the front rows closer
to the field of play than 70 feet,
as recommended for college stadiums. " In addition, she contended
" the provision of enhanced Wi-Fi
to encourage use of mobile devices
and brightly colored advertising on
the outfield fences " had " distracted
fans from the activity on the field. "
The trial court agreed with U.S.
Baseball and granted the motion
to dismiss the case. In so doing,
the trial court found Summer's
complaint had failed to allege any
legal basis for liability because her
claims were " barred under the primary assumption of risk doctrine. "
Summer appealed.

Participants Assume
Inherent Risks
As cited by the appeals court, the
primary assumption of risk doctrine is based on the following
" straightforward policy foundation " :
[Primary assumption of risk
addresses] the need to avoid chilling vigorous participation in or
sponsorship of recreational activities by imposing a tort duty [i.e.,
personal injury liability law] to
eliminate or reduce the risks of
harm inherent in those activities.

It operates on the premise that
imposing such a legal duty would
work a basic alteration - or cause
abandonment of the activity.
Moreover, within the context of
assumption of risk in a " sport setting, " the court would find injured
participants " to have assumed the
particular risks inherent in a sport
by choosing to participate and the
defendant generally owes no duty
to protect the plaintiff from those
risks. " Further, in determining the
applicability of assumption of risk,
the appeals court would " evaluate the fundamental nature of the
sport and the defendant's role in or
relationship to that sport in order to
determine whether the defendant
owes a duty to protect a plaintiff
from the particular risk of harm. "
In particular, the appeals court
noted " operators, instructors and
participants in the activity owe
other participants only the duty
not to act so as to increase the
risk of injury over that inherent
in the activity. " Further, within
the " context of businesses selling
recreational opportunities, " the
court found " those responsible for
maintaining athletic facilities have
a similar duty not to increase the
inherent risks " :
Safety is important, but so is
the freedom to engage in recreation and challenge one's limits.
The primary assumption of risk
doctrine balances these competing
concerns by absolving operators of
activities with inherent risks from
an obligation to protect their customers from those risks.
That being said, " while the operator or organizer of a recreational
activity has no duty to decrease
risks inherent to the sport, " the appeals court would find " a duty to

reasonably minimize extrinsic risks
so as not to unreasonably expose
participants to an increased risk of
harm. " (Emphasis of court)
Further, the court found: " Duties
with respect to the same risk may
vary according to the role played by
particular defendants involved in
the sport. " For example, the court
made the following distinction between a batter in a baseball game
and the duty owed by the stadium
to spectators at the game:
[A] batter in baseball has no
duty to avoid carelessly throwing
a bat after hitting the ball - such
conduct being an inherent risk of
the sport - but a stadium owner,
because of his or her different relationship to the sport, may have
a duty to take reasonable measures
to protect spectators from carelessly
thrown bats. For the stadium owner, reasonable steps may minimize
the risk without altering the nature
of the sport.

The court found the primary
assumption of risk doctrine
would not " absolve operators
of any obligation to protect the
safety of their customers. "
Accordingly, in applying the assumption of risk doctrine, the court
would consider the " significance
of the defendant's role as the operator or organizer of the activity in
defining the scope of its duty to an
injured participant or bystander. "
In so doing, the court found the primary assumption of risk doctrine
would not " absolve operators of
any obligation to protect the safety
of their customers. " On the contrary, the court acknowledged " the

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Parks & Recreation

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May 2020 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2020 - Parks & Recreation

May 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 1
May 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 2
May 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 3
May 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 4
May 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 5
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2019
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2015
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2011
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2010
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